


Moments

by reality_ruins_dreams



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Fluff, M/M, X-Factor Days
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-02
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-01-07 03:43:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1115073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reality_ruins_dreams/pseuds/reality_ruins_dreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Louis Tomlinson loses his best friend it feels like he's suddenly lost everything but a certain green eyed boy offers him something new to live for...<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter jumps RIGHT into sad. Just warning everyone to have tissues near by. And I apologize in advance...  
> I do not own One Direction nor do I claim any rights to them, this is purely a work of fiction.

“Hello London!” Liam yells into the microphone, making everyone else on stage smile. It was towards the end of their Up All Night Tour and the show was coming to an end. They had three more songs then they were done for the night. Louis can’t wait for the show to be over he just can’t  stop dreading this next song, the one the boys had sat down and wrote with Ed Sheeran _for her_. Louis shook his head to clear his thoughts.

 

“This next song was written with none other than Ed Sheeran! Here is Moments,” Harry says with a small smile as the band began to pick up in the back ground.

 

Louis mind starts to spin, he can’t do this. It was like this at every show, it was never really any different, yet something about tonight was making it worse. This song brought back to many memories and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to do it. They were just getting to the end of Harry’s solo when Louis ran off stage. Handing his mic to the nearest stage hand he ran to the dressing room and locked the door behind him, locking the rest of the world out and collapsing on the ground. Eyes filling with tears and memories taking over as one of the boys pounded on the door.

                                         ---                                                                                

_Louis had gotten used to walking over to Eleanor’s house every Saturday afternoon for their weekly movie date. He was carrying his movie pick in his hand, some sappy romance that he hated but knew El would like, he did it just to make her happy. He smiled as he made his way up to her huge house, skipping the doorbell and just turning the knob. He entered the house quietly, ears perking up as he heard humming in the kitchen._

 

 

_“Honey I’m home!” He called out cheekily as he slipped off his favorite pair of toms and tossed the movie onto the couch._

 

 

_“Lou?” He heard a voice call from the kitchen and he took that as his cue that he was wanted. He peeked his head around the corner, a sly smile on his face as he made eye contact with his best friend._

 

 

_“Hi babes,” He muttered as he scooted into the room and wrapped his arms around her torso. “Where are your parents?” His fingers danced across her side and he laughed as she squealed and tried to get away._

 

 

_“Out, they had some charity event they were needed at,” she grimaced and rolled her eyes playfully. “I’ve got the whole house to myself until tomorrow.” She turned around in Louis arms and gripped his biceps gently._

 

 

_Louis noticed for the first time since he’d gotten there that her eyes were red rimmed, like she’d been crying. “Babe, what’s wrong?” he asked carefully, fingers tightening on her waist, eyes searching hers._

 

_“Oh, nothing, I finished a really sad book a little while ago, I’m a sap when it comes to things like that Lou, and you know that!” She smiled and quickly kissed his cheek._

 

 

_He was still suspicious but he wasn’t going to push it. He knew his best friend better than anyone and she hated being questioned. “Okay,” he shrugged easily “I’ve got the movie, are the snacks ready?”_

 

 

_“Yesss” she laughed quietly as she grabbed the tray of food “grab the drinks Lou then get your arse in here. I’ve wanted to see this movie forever.” Louis rolled his eyes and smiled to himself, grabbing the drinks and following her into the movie area._

 

 

_“I still can’t believe your parents left the house all to you El. And especially letting you use the stove! That’s just horrid!” he mock gasped and fell dramatically onto the couch._

_“Oh hush it you!” She giggled cutely and chucked a pillow at his head, catching him off guard and giving him a mouthful. “Now if you’re done harassing me, I’d like to get this movie started!”_

_“Yes ma’am,” he smiled jokingly, as he made himself comfortable and held his arm up for El to slip under and cuddle into his side._

_“I love you Lou,” she said with a quiet sigh._

 

 

_Louis smiled, his best friend was wonderful, “I love you too El bear. Now hush, the movie’s starting.” His fingers danced over her side again making her squirm._

 

 

_The movie was halfway through when Louis noticed his shirt was getting wet, he looked over at Eleanor alarmed when he felt little shakes coming off of her. “El, Eleanor babe; What’s going on?” Louis said sitting up so he could look at her face._

 

 

_“Lou,” she choked out desperately “I should have told you as soon as you got here, I know I should have. Please don’t hate me. Lou; promise me,” Her tiny body was wracked with tremors as she turned toward him and started to sob quietly._

 

 

_“No, El I promise I could never hate you. Tell me sweet. What’s wrong? Did someone say something?” Louis was honestly so confused at this point, he had no idea what was wrong. All he could guess was maybe it was something about her asshole of an ex-boyfriend._

 

 

_“Louis. You know how I went out of town two months ago? And I told you it was for my dad’s work?” She wiped her cheeks slowly then looked up at him._

 

 

_“Yeah?” He said as he sat up straighter._

 

 

_“Well- It was actually a doctor’s visit. We were seeing a specialist,” She whispered quietly; her eyes not meeting his now._

_“What? Is it your parents? Is one of them sick?” He was genuinely worried now._

 

 

_She shook her head slowly, “No Lou. It’s me- I’m the one that’s sick.” Her eyes met Louis now and a tear slid down her cheek. “We got the results from the tests back today. You remember how I kept getting all those headaches? Sometimes they got so bad where I couldn’t even get out of bed?”_

 

 

_He nodded his head, of course he remembered, there were days when he’d come over because they had plans but she had to cancel because of those damned headaches. So he stayed with her, just laid with her, comforting her._

 

 

_“Well- we finally know what was causing them… It’s a tumor Lou. A brain tumor, Lou- I have stage IV brain cancer and they can’t do anything for me.” The tears started coming faster now, her face crumpling as she started to face reality yet again. “I’m dying Lou.” His arms immediately shot out and wrapped her up, pulling her as close to him as he could. There was nothing he could do, he wasn’t going to make her stop crying; she needed this._

 

 

_He stood up from the couch and pulled her up with him, leaning down as he picked her up bridal style and made his way up to her room, leaving the movie to finish playing._

 

 

_He laid her down on her bed and crawled in beside her,locking his arms around one of the only people who had ever been a constant in his life, he kissed her forehead and choked back his tears, finally starting to face the fact that he was losing his best friend. She was the one who’d been there for him every second since they were three; from age seven when he fell out of a tree and broke his leg, no matter how much she’d teased him and gave him crap, she had still ran and gotten help. It was her who was there for him when he first tried out for the school’s football team at fourteen. And most importantly, she was there for him when he had confessed that he was gay at seventeen. She was his best friend, his sister; and now she was dying. He held her tightly as the tears finally started to fall._

_\---_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say a quick thank you to my beta Alex, with out you i'd be lost!  
> Thank you for reading everyone...  
> Here's Chapter Two

“We’re sorry for the wait everyone! Lou just probably had to go use the loo.” Niall chuckled out, finding his own joke more hilarious than anyone else, including the crowd that laughing along; and with them being distracted by Niall’s less than successful attempt at humor, Harry slipped off stage to find Louis.  
As he ran down the corridor, Harry shouted out Louis name, hoping to receive an answer, only to see the toes of his black vans slip around the corner followed by the slamming and clicking of a door. "No, Lou, come on," Harry sighed, leaning against the door, repeatedly mumbling the word a few more times; he knew how Louis could get, especially when they sang Moments.  
Louis probably wasn’t in the best shape in there at the moment and Harry knew that he had to get in there; they couldn’t leave Louis alone when he got like this. Most of all, it scared the shit out of Harry knowing that wasn’t able to get to Louis. He slid down the wall with his hands in his hair, the most he could do was wait it out.  
“Harry what’s going on mate, is he alright?” Zayn asked as he jogged down the hall towards the room. He was just as worried as Harry was because he, knew how Louis could get almost as well.  
Harry sighed, voice shaking slightly as he answered, “I don’t know, Zayn, he locked himself in there,” his shoulders dropping as he massaged his temples to release some tension.  
Zayn glanced warily at the door, resting a hand on Harry’s shoulder and squeezing it gently in hopes of providing some comfort before muttering, “I’ll go get Paul. He’ll have the key,” and turning to head back down the hall, leaving Harry to sit alone.  
“Louis, love, are you alright? I need you to open the door for me. I know you want to be alone right now but I need to be there for you. You know how much I care, right Lou?” Harry laid his face against the door as he tried his best to get Louis back from wherever he’d gone.  
Ten minutes of stagnant silence had gone by when Harry heard the click of a lock turning. After being stuck in his thoughts, the sound startled him and he quickly stumbled to his feet, softly knocking on the door. “Lou?” he breathed out, a meaning behind his words lingering unspoken in the air.  
“Hazza,” a meek voice wavered from the other side of the door. Harry took that as permission to enter, opening the wooden door and quietly shutting it behind him before taking in the scene in front of him.  
Louis was in a crumpled mess on the floor, laying curled up in the fetal position; arms wrapped around knees and face buried in the carpet. Little sobs wracked his smaller frame as he emptied his sorrows. Harry looked at the fragile, broken boy before him and his heart started to break. He dropped to the ground and wrapped his arms around his best friend.  
“Lou bear, what’s wrong?” he whispered gently. They had to talk to Lou like that when he had his flashbacks…. It was the only thing that would bring him back.  
Little whimpers came out of the smaller boys mouth, the tears slowing as he softly said Harry’s name. “This time it was-“he coughed then looked up into the green eyes that studied him gently. “It was when she told me, the day she told me about the cancer,” a soft sigh following the words. He buried his face into Harry’s chest, trying to escape the world and all the evils that came with it.  
A knock sounded through the door, “Everything good in there?” they heard Paul’s gruff voice question. That was when Harry got pulled back to reality, they still had the rest of the show to preform, or, well two songs. But they couldn’t just leave now; it’d disappoint their fans far too much.  
“Louis, are you-?” Harry softly began, only to be interrupted.  
“Don’t you dare ask me if I’m going back out there,” He sat up, quickly scrubbing his small hands across his face as he tried to rid the traces of his tears. “I can’t go back out. There are only two songs left, can you- can you guys just please just figure something out? I really just need to be alone, I need El.” He looked at his hand before grasping at Harry’s, like a lifeline, the only thing that was still keeping him here. “Please.”  
There was a soft unspoken promise there that the younger lad caught onto immediately that let Harry know Louis wasn’t going to try anything. “Alright Lou, go see her. The boys and I can handle this.” Closing the gap between them, he pressed a soft kiss to Louis forehead. He stood and looked down at his best mate yet again, “Promise?” He held out his pinky.  
“Promise,” Louis murmured, linking pinkies with him before smiling softly. “Thanks Hazza,” he whispered as Harry left the room.  
```  
Louis discovered that it was the perfect night for a walk as he made his way outside, but even he couldn’t walk all the way to where El was. He called a taxi and told them exactly where he was headed. The yellow car pulled up to the curb, and sighing Louis settled into the back seat ready to wait out the 3 hour car drive.  
“Hey mate, you sure you don’t want one of your drivers to drive you? You know how much this is going to cost?” the taxi driver asked, turned around in his seat, with a tone nothing but curious.  
“Yeah ’m sure,” Louis mumbled as he closed his eyes tightly, “just get me there.” He missed the other mans confused shrug as he slowly drifted off to sleep.  
```  
“Yo, mate. You’re here,” Louis heard the ruff accent before he felt the hand tapping his shoulder.  
He opened his eyes and squinted at the taxi driver before taking in his surroundings. He was outside his family’s house and it was dark out, probably close to midnight by now. “Yeah thanks man, how much?” He reached into his wallet and pulled out some bills.  
“Um…” The cabbie coughed and looked embarrassed.  
“Well out with it! I haven’t got all night.” Louis was starting to get impatient.  
“494.25 pounds,” the man mumbled to a straight faced Louis.  
Louis pulled the money out of his wallet, giving the cabbie an extra hundred pounds, for all the trouble he reasoned. “Thanks man.” He smiled as he grabbed the rest of his stuff out of the cab and made his way up to the house. He had called his mom before he had even left the venue and told her he was coming, so thank God the door was unlocked, seeing as to how he didn’t have his keys with him.  
He entered the house quietly, closing and locking the door behind him before he made his way up to his bedroom. Dropping his things on the ground and kicking off his shoes, he pulled off his jeans and crawled into bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Louis woke up knowing exactly what he had to do. He had to say goodbye to El for good. He couldn’t keep holding onto something that was causing him so much pain. It was time to let go, move on with his life; be happy.

With a soft groan he rolled out of bed and grabbed a pair of sweats from his dresser, slipping his glasses on instead of contacts then made his way downstairs. He heard his younger sisters' voices almost immediately. Smiling he walked into the kitchen and greeted his surprised family.

“Hi loves!” he chuckled as the twins threw themselves at him, shouting “Louis!” almost in sync. He smiled over his sisters' heads at his mom who was watching her children with a fond smile.

“You hungry dear?” she asked as she turned to grab a plate and started filling it up with food, leaving no room for an answer before she was pushing the plate into his hands and gesturing for her only son to sit. 

“You look like you’ve lost weight Lou.” She tusked, taking the seat beside him.

“I have,” he confirmed after swallowing a bite of toast. “I’ve kind of been in a funk.” He put his fork down slowly with a small frown on his thin lips. 

“I’ve been missing El. I left the show early last night and took a cab all the way here. We were just starting Moments... and I guess it just hit me so hard.” He couldn’t meet his mom’s eyes for some reason, “I came to say goodbye to her.” With quivering lips he raised his eyes to meet his mom’s.

“Oh baby.” She pulled him close, “Are you sure?” Her hands ran through his hair gently, comforting him with the softest of touches.

“She’s not coming back mum. I have to move on and keep living. I need to be happy.” A broken sigh fell from his parted lips as he pushed his plate back. “I’m going to the cemetery now, I’ll be back later.”

“Aren’t you going to finish your food?” Jay protested, staring at Louis as he stood.

“Not hungry, sorry but thank you for making it.” He smiled lightly, dropping a kiss on her forehead before making his way to the foyer to get his shoes. “I’ll be back in a bit.” He shouted across the house before he closed the door behind him.  
```  
Louis kept his eyes forward as he walked; he didn’t have to look for the name or plot number, he knew exactly where he was going. The familiar path was burned into his memory, though thinking back now he couldn’t remember the last time he’d come to see her.

All his thoughts vanished as he reached the familiar marker on the grass, he could tell that her parents had been there recently by the fresh daisies that lay against her headstone. His heart wrenched, guilty thoughts rushed through his head, berating himself for not keeping in touch with the people who had been like parents to him too.

Louis slowly lowered himself to the ground, eyes warily scanning the words and dates that marked her headstone, it was strange that a person’s life could be summed up with two dates. No one would ever know about that time when she’d shoved a handful of sand down his pants for tattling on her, or even that time he’d experienced his first break up and she’d spoiled him with movies and ice cream that whole weekend. No one would ever know about those dates, because in the grand scheme of things, they didn’t matter.

“Hey El-Bear, I know it’s been awhile. I’m sorry. We’re getting to the end of our first tour!” He smiled but it quickly faded. He knew he looked like an idiot, but really that was the least of his worries. “I came to say goodbye, you already knew that though.” A lone tear escaped as he gazed out at the other grave markers. “I miss you.” It was a broken whisper; he was torn apart still waiting to be fixed.

He sat quietly for the longest time. Not really thinking about anything when he heard the sound of feet scuffing pavement. His brows furrowed in confusion as he turned and saw Harry walking towards him, hands stuffed in his coat pockets. “Harry? What are you doing here?” He looked around for any sign of the other three but he didn’t see anyone else. It was just Harry. But, why would harry drive three hours to come here?

“I’d thought you’d be here.” He smiled gently, his dimples making an appearance. He gestured to the spot beside Louis, “Do you mind?” Louis shook his head in awe as the younger boy took the spot next to him.

“Did you- did you drive all the way from London?” Louis finally asked after about 5 minutes of silence between the two.

“Does it really matter?” Harry sounded curious.

“Ye-“Louis was cut off with a fast nod from Harry, conformation, “Why?” He forced the word out, almost needing to know the exact reason.

“I knew you needed someone, and I also knew you weren’t going to let that someone be your mom or sisters. So I came.” Harry shrugged like it made all the sense in the world, but in reality Louis head was spinning.

Louis turned, his eyes locking with Harry’s immediately, “And you want to be that person? I’m broken Harry. Shattered actually, and it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than just super glue to put me back together again.” He could feel his throat tightening, the first sign of a breakdown.

Harry nodded, taking in Louis words with a straight face. “I’m aware Louis, I’m here and I’m not planning on leaving. I’m going to collect all of your pieces and fit them back together one by one, whether you like it or not.” A cheeky smile played over his lips as he gripped Louis small, cold hand in his.

“Har-“was all he could get out before he was pulled into a fierce hug by the boy beside him.

“I love you Lou.” Harry’s voice rang with sincerity and it almost took Louis breath away, how much those three words affected him. Harry would never know.

Instead of answering back Louis buried his head in the crook of the curly lad’s neck, taking a deep breath and successfully ignoring the tears that were threatening to overwhelm him.

“What do you say Lou, ready to go home?” Harry asked, referring to their shared flat back in London. His hand squeezed the smaller one and waited patiently for an answer.

Louis gazed at the headstone he had come to talk to; knowing that she really wasn’t there he sadly nodded his head, “Yeah.” He sighed. “Let’s go home.” 

He let Harry pull him to his feet before he kissed his finger tips and grazed the cool marble, silently saying a final goodbye to his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's been so long but I've been super busy!!  
> I'll try to get the next chapter up by this weekend! :*


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am soooooo sorry about this break. I just lost interest in it and kinda lost inspiration! But it's back and at full swing. I also have some awesome friends supporting me. You know who you are. I'm aiming for longer chapters... hopefully this one will be the last one thats super short. *fingers crossed*

_Louis had always hated the overly sterile smell and look of hospitals, the more he thought about it, he more than likely even hated it when he popped out of his mom into a pair of sterilized, gloved hands. He managed a small smile at that as he glanced at the room numbers tacked to the wallpapered walls._

__

_“226,” he muttered to himself, a sense of dread settling in the bottom of his stomach. Coughing, Louis tightened his hold on the stems of the daisies and pushed the door open._

__

_Eleanor was spread out comfortably on the stiff hospital bed, cushioned by the seemingly five hundred blankets settled either underneath, beside or covering her frail frame. As soon as Louis pushed through the doorway the sick girl’s demeanor brightened, a happy smile pushed her dry lips up her cheeks and she reached out a skinny arm, gesturing for Louis to join her._

__

_“Hi El-bear,” Louis grinned at his best friend cheekily, hugging her mom and dad before placing a kiss on the top of her thinning hair._

__

_“Those for me? Lou-bear,” She shot back at him with a tired grin. Her eyes still sparkled with life, no matter how frail her body became or how much hair she lost; they all knew she was still there with them when her eyes sparkled. It was a relief._

__

_“Nah,” Louis flicked his hand at her, “These are for mum,” He chuckled at her ‘wounded look’ then blew a kiss to her, “Yes silly they’re for you! Let me just get you some water then I’ll come cuddle you.” El shot him a thumbs up before resuming her relaxed position in her mountains of pillows and blankets._

__

_“We can do that Louis, you go spend time with her. She’s been talking about your date all day,” El’s mom smiled gently at him as she shooed him towards the bed. Lou shot her a sheepish smile before toeing off his shoes and climbing into the bed with his best friend._

__

_“How was your day?” El turned in his arms, resting her small hand on his chest. She watched him through her thin lashes, smiling slightly when he glanced from the TV down to her._

__

_“It was good. Didn’t do too much, worked the early shift at Toys R Us and caught a late lunch with mum and Lottie. It was a boring day love. Now,” Louis shifted a little before continuing, “How about you, I bet yours was far more exciting!”_

__

_“It was alright. I think I talked myself into shaving my head,” pausing to wink at Louis, “it’s not like I’m trying to impress anyone, I don’t even have a hot doctor!” Louis scoffed at her before leaning his head against hers. “I’m getting another round of chemo in a few days, I don’t know why they try… I’m gonna die anyways!”_

__

_“Eleanor Jane Calder!” Susan scolded, eyebrows furrowed and a hurt expression covering her features._

__

_El gave an exasperated sigh, “Mom.” No matter how many times they went over it, Susie was still so sure her daughter would make it, “She’ll pull through,” She would always say. ‘It would be this hospitals miracle.’  She rolled her eyes as her mom huffed out a breath and left the room, her dad giving her a stern look before following after._

__

_“Parents,” Louis joked gently elbowing her in the side._

__

_“No kidding!” She groaned, slouching into the pillows a little more, “Anyway, lets watch a movie. I bet we could both use a little nap.” El let out a small yawn before reaching for the remote attached to the bed and flipping through the channels._

__

_Louis watched her, smiling a little at the way her brow furrowed between her eyes and how she bit her lip when she was lost inside her own head._

__

_As he watched her, he thought back to the day he came out to her. Ever since they were little they had always been teased by the children in their school, they had always been super close, ‘glued at the hip’, or ‘siamese twins’ as their parents and even some teachers had said. But the kids at school were convinced they were boyfriend and girlfriend._

_And maybe for awhile they had truly believed they were, in their 6th form years, before Louis had realized girls just weren’t doing it for him, El had been his first kiss. Well, they were each others first kisses really. And then, just one little moment had done it, Louis had kissed Tommy Jones under the bleachers and he knew._

_He had ran to Eleanor crying, scared of what she would say or do. To this day he still remembered how she had smiled and shrugged saying, “Okay, I still love you Lou-bear,” before tugging him into a tight hug and ruffling his hair._

_He had stared at her, his mouth hung open in shock. Trance broken when she slugged him in the arm then stuck her tongue out, “What? Cat got your tongue? Let’s go get some ice cream.” And that had been the end of that._

__

_Louis still doesn’t think he has ever truly thanked her for the way she so simply accepted him, loved him and been there for him for all his life. She was the definition of a true friend and here she was, withering away to nothing as the days passed._

__

_“Louis!” El shoved her bony elbow into his side, her nose was scrunched up, amused at his daydreaming he guessed. “You know the doctors are supposed to be worried about my brain melting… not yours!” She giggled a bit before snuggling back up to him. “Where’d you wander off to?” Her eyes were back on the television screen, half focused on the film, A Walk to Remember. What a coincidence._

__

_“Ah no where really. Was remembering the day I came out to you. And how you’ve always been such a true friend to me. Well, and I guess I never really thanked you,” He trailed off as the frail girl beside him let out a loud guffaw._

__

_“Louis William Tomlinson. Don’t you fucking dare get all sappy on me, you are supposed to be the one I can count on to keep it real with me. I am dying and I’ve accepted it, I don’t need anyones sympathy, especially yours,” She huffed out a breath and crossed her arms, obviously annoyed at Louis rare display of emotion._

__

_“Woah there, fire cracker! Sorry for setting you off. I just felt like I needed to-” He was interrupted by the hand clamped over his mouth._

__

_“No,” She stated firmly, “No more.”_

__

_Louis licked a stripe across her palm and smiled triumphantly when she shrieked and wrenched it away. Cooing when she put on a fake pout._

__

_“Okay. Lou. Now it’s my turn to get serious,” Eleanor pulled a manila envelope from under her pillow._

__

_“El? What’s that?” He reached for it, but for only having six more months to live that girl was still quick as lightning._

__

_“Uh. Uh. Uh,” She tisked, shaking her finger at him before opening the envelope and pulling out some official looking documents, “Registration papers.” She stated proudly, dropping the stack on his lap along with a pen._

__

_“Uh? For what?” Louis brow scrunched up as he searched through the documents._

__

_“Read it dumby,” She rolled her eyes before resting her head on his shoulder._

__

_“The X-Factor?” Confused he glanced at her quickly before flipping through a few more pages. “You’re auditioning? I didn’t know you could sing… El. Have you been holding out on us?” He teased gently, but sobered quickly when he saw her serious face._

__

_“They are for you Louis William. Its my dying wish and I want you to grant it,” Louis could see the little flutter in her throat, it happened whenever she was about to cry. He quickly looked back down to the papers._

__

_“But why? You don’t really think I can make it do you?” He read through the rules and swallowed tightly. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to do it without her._

__

_“I know you can make it, Louis. I believe it with all my heart and all my soul and… I want you to do it for me. You can think of it as payback for ‘how good of a friend i’ve been,’” She chuckled as she nudged him with her shoulder._

__

_Louis was caught in what seemed like a staring contest with the stack of papers on his lap, he nodded slowly before meeting Eleanor’s eyes again. “Yeah, okay… I’ll do it. I’ll go. But only for you!” The corner of his lips lifted in a small smile._

__

_Eleanor made a noise like a smoker hacking, Louis didn’t know if that was El’s evil cackle, but if it was she didn’t pass if off very well… “I have you just were I want you. One step closer to completing my evil plan!” She rubbed her fingers together as she let out a glee filled laugh, not able to contain it anymore._

__

_“Oh hush you. Let’s just watch this movie. It’s date night after all,” Louis wrapped his arm back around her shoulders and pulled her into his side._

__

_“Nuh uh! Only if you fill out the forms while we cry our eyes out to a Nicholas Sparks movie. It’s only right.”_

__

_“Promise,” Louis linked their fingers together, making a much bigger promise than she knew._

\---

 

“Louis… Lou?” He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, softly shaking the sleep from his mind. It was Harry, they were on their way back to London. It wasn’t 2010. He wasn’t cuddled up with El in her hospital bed. He was back to reality.

Sighing, he opened his eyes and settled his seat back to the sitting position, “Hi Haz. We almost there?” He rubbed the sleep from his tired eyes as he took in the scenery.

“‘Bout fifteen minutes, then we should be home. Sorry to wake you, was just wondering if you wanted to stop somewhere to eat?” Harry watched him out of the corner of his eyes, gauging his reaction.

“Nah, I’m not really hungry. But if you are we can stop,” Louis let his head roll against the headrest, his body and brain still trying to wake up.

“Okay. I’ll just order something when we get to the flat. Did you sleep okay last night?” Harry kept his eyes on the road, using the blinker to turn.

Louis massaged his temples grunting,” Nope. Slept like shit. Woke up early too.”

“Go back to sleep Lou… I’ll wake you when we get back,” Harry’s tone was firm, no room for argument. But Louis was never good at complying.

“No its fine Haz. We’re almost there anyway,” Louis folded his legs under him on the seat and reached forward to flip through the channels on the radio.

They stayed quiet for the rest of the drive, Louis watching the world move around them, and Harry quietly humming along to whatever song was playing on the radio. Louis was the first one to jump out of the car when they pulled into the parking lot at their flat. He was ready for a shower and bed and he was most definitely not in the mood to talk to anyone. He was still processing this new lighter feeling he was experiencing since he actually, finally said goodbye. He felt like he was able to breathe again and he didn’t think he had ever felt this much relief before.

He was already done with his shower and naked except for a towel tied around his waist when Harry knocked on his door, “Come in,” Louis grunted as he searched for a pair of sweats and briefs he could tug on.

Harry was dressed down in a pair of similar sweats and some wool socks, no shirt, Louis noted when the younger boy splayed himself across his mattress. He raised himself onto his elbows so he could dig into his chinese take out container.

Louis dressed quickly then crawled onto the bed, straddling Harry’s thighs, fluttering his eyelashes for a bite to eat. “Thought you said you weren’t hungry,” Harry chuckled as he speared a piece of beef and broccoli and lifted it to Louis mouth.

“That was when you asked me, a half an hour ago,” Louis sniffed as he rolled off onto his side. His mouth stretched into a yawn as he watched Harry clean out the paper container.

“I have some extra in the kitchen… you want me to go get it for you?” Harry offered as he sat up.

“Nah,” Louis sniffled, “Want you to cuddle with me though. It’s been a long day and I could use some curls tickling my face.” Louis smirked as he settled against the pillows and tried to get under the covers with Harry blocking half of the bed.

“‘Kay Lou. Whatever makes you happy,” Harry fake sighed, chuckling when Louis shot him a warning glare, “Lemme just go put the food away in the kitchen and brush my teeth. I’ll be right back.” Harry rolled off the mattress before Louis could get a word in.

The older boy was already half asleep by the time Harry padded back into the room, he was scrunched up into the fetal position, facing away from the door. Harry smiled to himself as he flicked the light switch off and crawled under the covers. He placed a soft kiss to Louis’ temple before wrapping the smaller lad up in his arms and pulling him back against his body. “Night love,” He whispered as Louis’ eyes fluttered shut.

And when Louis woke up the next morning, with Harry still plastered to his back he realized that that had been the best nights sleep he had gotten since Eleanor had died. Louis was out of his funk and he was here to stay this time.

****\---

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who read!  
> Ashx


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